


that thing that i've been looking for

by ohvictor



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Nonbinary Character, Other, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-11 08:06:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12931071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohvictor/pseuds/ohvictor
Summary: Rei, Kanata, and Kaoru go on a date.





	that thing that i've been looking for

**Author's Note:**

> this is just a small gay thing i wrote while not working on my main wip. rei is nonbinary (they/them, here). title is from sexual by neiked (although it COULD be from high school musical.........). enjoy!!

Kaoru’s heart has been in his throat all day. He feels it every time he swallows, and if he’s lucky his breath doesn’t catch on it. His palms are so sweaty he keeps having to wipe them on his pants, and halfway through the day he has to leave class and splash water on his face in the bathroom. The Kaoru that looks back at him in the mirror is shaky and pale, and gives him a baleful look when he tells him to man up and stop sweating.

It’s a blessing, at least, that neither Kanata nor Rei are in his class to see him being a nervous wreck. Or maybe it’s not a blessing at all, because seeing them usually puts him at ease. At least no one in 3A comments on it, not even Izumi, who looks more sour than usual, or Chiaki, who’s dozing off on his deck whenever Sensei isn’t looking. Even Tenshouin’s sharp eyes miss him, if only because Tenshouin sits in the front of class and only looks at Kaoru when he talks. Today, he’s tongue-tied, and has to stifle urges to check his phone every few minutes--as if Kanata or Rei would have texted him. Rei doesn’t even know what a cell phone _is_.

When classes finally end, Kaoru stands on shaky legs, suddenly a hundred times more nervous than he had been all day. He knows the path from 3A’s classroom to the marine life clubroom by heart, but he takes it at a snail’s pace, wondering if he’ll be even more nervous once he arrives or if seeing Kanata will calm him down. Usually, it’s the latter, but like _this_... Kaoru can’t be sure.

He makes it to the clubroom door and flattens his hand on the wood, counts to three, and pushes the door open.

Inside is the usual white noise of filters and tank lights. Kanata is kneeling beside Kamegorou’s tank, sleeves rolled up and pants dotted with splashes of water, smiling as the tiny turtle crawls over his hand--the whole picture is extremely bad for Kaoru’s heart. He doesn’t announce himself, hoping Kanata will stay like this, adorable and perfect with a cute turtle on his hand, but after a moment, Kanata’s eyes flick over to Kaoru and his smile widens.

“Kaoru,” he hums, and begins coaxing Kamegorou off his hand. “Forgive me, my ‘hands’ are occupied...”

“Ah, it’s no trouble,” Kaoru says quickly. Suddenly awkward, he shoves his sweaty hands in his pockets and hovers a step closer to Kanata. “Do you need help feeding anything?”

“Everyone is ‘fed’,” Kanata nods. “My friends were not in ‘class’ today, so I decided to just stay ‘here’ after lunch.”

Kaoru tuts. “You can’t just skip class if no one you want to talk to is there.”

“Sorry,” Kanata says without remorse, and finally frees his hand from underneath Kamegorou. He withdraws his arm and wipes his palm on a towel, and gets to his feet with the air of one who has been kneeling for a painfully long time. Kaoru barely gets his hands out of his pockets in time as Kanata bounces over and slings his arms around Kaoru, tilting his face up to receive a kiss.

 _He’s so cute_ , Kaoru thinks, and he’s kissing Kanata before he has a chance to worry about it. Kanata’s lips are soft and plump, and they always taste salty; Kaoru never knows if it’s soy sauce or saltwater or just something intrinsically Kanata, but he thinks probably he will never get enough of it.

“There you are,” Kanata sighs as they part. His eyes open slowly, and he smiles up at Kaoru. “Shall we go and ‘find’ Rei?”

“Ah,” Kaoru says. His heart is beating at record speeds. “Where is Sakuma-san?”

“Probably their ‘clubroom’,” Kanata says. He glances around the marine life clubroom one more time, hefting his bag onto his shoulder, and then slips his hand into Kaoru’s.

“You should wash your hands before doing that,” Kaoru tells him, even as he squeezes Kanata’s fingers.

“But I have already ‘touched’ you,” Kanata says, grinning. “We are both ‘dirty’.”

Kaoru just snorts. He can’t imagine letting go of Kanata’s hand now, so he pulls Kanata out the door, reveling in how light he feels. It’s like all the tension of the school day has seeped out of him, left behind in the marine life clubroom.

It’s a short walk to the light music clubroom where Rei’s coffin always sits, and Kaoru nudges the door open with his hip instead of letting go of Kanata’s hand. Inside, the room is dark, with fabric over the windows blocking out the afternoon light. Rei’s coffin lies in one corner, and although there’s no sound coming from it, Kanata nods and walks over to it.

“Rei~” he calls, tapping the side of the coffin with his shoe.

It takes a few seconds, but the coffin lid shifts up and then off, and Rei emerges, hair tangled and face blotchy, squinting in the dim light. “Oh... What time is it...?”

“Classes are over,” Kaoru says. “Sakuma-san, you overslept.”

“Ah!” Rei hasn’t fully opened their eyes, but they still manage to look alarmed. “Oh no! I wanted to get dressed up for you two... This is all a mess... Please give me a redo, or at least ten minutes to change!”

“You should have ‘set an alarm’,” Kanata chides. He drops Kaoru’s hand--awful!--and finds a chair to sit down in, crossing his arms with a mock-stern look.

“I did,” Rei moans, “but it seems I slept through it. Ah, Kanata, did I miss anything terribly important in class?” They crawl halfway out of their coffin and pull their bag towards themself, and begin to root through it, unearthing a grocery bag of what looks like clothing and a shockingly pink makeup case.

“‘I’ would not know,” Kanata says, and laughs as Kaoru pulls a face.

“Ah, well, I suppose it’s no great loss,” Rei sighs. They make a great show of getting to their feet, complete with yawning and bones popping, and then make a quick trip to the bathroom with the bags they’d pulled out. Kanata makes use of the next ten minutes of waiting by coaxing Kaoru onto his lap and kissing him until Kaoru’s completely red. When Rei returns, they do their best attempt at a wolf whistle without being able to truly whistle.

“Kaoru-kun looks so delicious,” they sigh, tucking their makeup bag back away. “I thought we would wait until after our date to eat him up, Kanata?”

“It was ‘you’ who left us alone,” Kanata insists, as Kaoru covers his face.

“Well, I’m back now.” Rei stands in front of the two of them and spins on one heel, showing off their outfit: a flowy white blouse over a thin black turtleneck, a grey wool skirt and black tights, and black boots. They’ve brushed their hair and fixed their eye makeup as well, although they haven’t put on lipstick; probably in preparation for kisses, Kaoru thinks, as if he wasn’t blushing already.

“You look ‘perfect’,” Kanata says. He reaches for Rei’s hand and tugs them closer, and leans up so he can kiss Rei firmly. “Is that ‘skirt’ new?”

“Ah, yes, Shu found and resized it for me,” Rei nods. They cup Kaoru’s face in their palm, meeting Kaoru’s gaze, and when they lean in to kiss him, Kaoru forgets he’s even on Kanata’s lap, held fast by Rei’s red gaze and the way their teeth catch on Kaoru’s bottom lip. Rei’s lips are dry and thin, the opposite of Kanata’s, but Kaoru likes the texture, and he _loves_ Rei’s teeth, something Rei makes sure to use mercilessly against him at all times.

“You look beautiful,” Kaoru tells Rei when they pull back.

Rei beams. “Thank you both! Where are we going again?”

“Down to the beach, until the sun gets to you,” Kaoru says, “and then there’s a cafe down there we can head to. You won’t be too warm?”

“Ehh...” Rei deflates a little at the mention of going out in the sun, but they nod, digging in their coffin and revealing a parasol. “I’ll be all right. Lead the way, Kaoru-kun~”

They tuck their wallet into the pocket of their skirt (of course Rei would find a skirt with deep pockets) as Kaoru and Kanata get to their feet, and Kaoru leads them all out of the clubroom and down through the hall. As soon as they make it outside, Rei begins to sag, deflating further as they walk through the gardens and down to the path leading to the water. Kanata, in contrast, perks up, his face nearly glowing with excitement as the first hint of sea breeze hits them.

By the time they reach the sand, Rei’s yawning, covering their mouth with one hand and holding the parasol handle tightly with the other. Tears bead at the corners of their eyes, and they squint at the ocean, chewing on their lip. It’s almost cute, how sleepy and out of it they look, and Kaoru can’t help but slide an arm around them as Kanata drifts away down the slope of the beach, shoes sinking into wet sand as he passes the line left by the high tide.

“Still doing okay?” Kaoru asks Rei. Rei nods, and pushes their face into Kaoru’s shoulder to stifle another yawn.

“Sorry,” they mumble. “The sun exhausts me.”

Kaoru squeezes Rei tighter, trying not to dwell on how thin they’ve gotten. “That’s okay,” he says. “Just let us know when it’s too much.”

“Kaoru-kun is so good...” Rei turns to face Kaoru entirely, their bottom lip jutting out in a cute little pout. Kaoru’s heart thuds painfully for the umpteenth time that afternoon. “It’s worth it, getting to see you and Kanata here... Your faces get so much brighter... And you relax more.”

“Ah...” Kaoru hadn’t thought it was that noticeable, how much being by the water calms him down. He presses his lips to Rei’s temple, and for a moment they both watch Kanata at the water’s edge, skipping back before the waves can lap at his toes, then stepping forward again, endlessly drawn to the water.

After a few minutes, Kanata returns to their side, and offers them shells he found under the waves. The spiral shell he hands Kaoru drips seawater into his palm, and Kaoru carefully wipes it dry on his pants and then slips it into his pocket.

They walk three by three again, Rei in the middle this time, Kanata’s arm linked with Rei’s parasol, even though Rei keeps having to drop Kaoru’s hand to cover their mouth as they yawn. Their overall progress is slow, as Kanata stops to pick up shells and bits of seaweed, Rei’s feet drag in the sand, and Kaoru is caught between hundreds of things that demand his attention, from Kanata’s bright smile to Rei’s sleepy sighs, from the people surfing fifty feet out on the ocean to the children running barefoot in the waves.

Five minutes later, Rei sways alarmingly mid-step and Kanata and Kaoru have to grab them by the arms to keep them upright. Their face is paler than usual, damp with an unusual sheen of sweat, and finally they don’t protest about wanting to watch their cute boyfriends when Kaoru says they’re leaving the beach.

The cafe, as promised, isn’t far, and Kaoru had checked ahead of time to be sure there was tomato juice on the menu. He orders some for Rei immediately, as well as water for himself and Kanata, and after draining half the glass, Rei regains some color to their face and stops slumping on the table.

“It was worth it,” they insist, when Kaoru begins to apologize for exhausting them. “Ah, now that we’re out of the sun, Kanata can show us his shell collection.”

Kanata happily spreads out his shells on the table (Kaoru tries not to think about how much sand this scatters on the tablecloth), and explains the origins of each shell in the extra-dreamy voice he acquires when talking about the ocean’s creatures. Kaoru takes one of the shells and holds it in his palm, pressing the pad of his thumb into an indent on its front, and watches Rei chew on the end of their straw.

They order a plate of fries after Kanata’s stomach complains loudly, and Kaoru snaps a picture for Chiaki, who texts back near instantly: _ooohooho tasty!!! are u on a hot date??_

Kaoru’s cheeks flush, and he shoves his phone in Kanata’s face. “Help?”

“Oh, is that ‘Chiaki’?” Kanata’s eyes light up, and he snags Kaoru’s phone before Kaoru can stop him. “Did you ‘tell’ him about our date?”

“No,” Kaoru groans, covering his face. “He probably means...a date with a girl.”

Rei pats Kaoru’s arm with their cold fingers. “You don’t have to tell him.”

“Maybe...” Kaoru rubs his forehead. “He doesn’t have to know it’s a date...”

“If Kaoru is not ‘ready’, that is okay,” Kanata nods. He hands Kaoru his phone back. “I will not mention the ‘fries’ to him, in that case.”

“No, you can tell him we got fries.” Kaoru sighs and lowers his hands. Rei and Kanata are both looking at him, and he feels stupid, even though they’re both being so nice to him. “It’s okay, I’m just being...”

“Don’t worry,” Rei tells him, and offers him a fry. “Here, eat this.”

“Mm?” Kaoru opens his mouth obediently and lets Rei feed him the fry. Kanata produces a bottle of soy sauce from who knows where and begins soaking his third of the plate in it.

“Kanata, they’re already salty,” Rei protests, quickly stealing several of the untouched fries.

“They are ‘better’ like this,” Kanata says firmly, stuffing four soy sauce-drenched fries in his mouth.

It’s impossible to keep dwelling on negative things when they’re like this. Kaoru can’t help but laugh at Rei’s scandalized expression, and lets Rei feed him another fry before he remembers his appetite and reaches for the plate in earnest.

The three of them quickly polish off the fries, and then they linger at the table talking as Rei downs another two glasses of tomato juice. Kanata tells them about Ryuseitai’s latest activities, so Kaoru and Rei tell him about Undead’s, and then Kanata and Rei tell Kaoru the latest Oddball gossip; it’s an easy pattern, and Kaoru feels more relaxed than he has all day, chatting in a cafe by the beach with these two remarkable, strange people whom he loves, who love him.

As Rei’s energy level rises, Kaoru looks out the window and notices the sun dipping low over the water, and announces they should get going. They pack up their bags and pay the cafe bill, and exit onto a boardwalk stained yellow and orange by a sky preparing for sunset. Rei’s hair glints red under the stray sunlight, and they tuck their folded parasol under one arm and take Kanata’s hand. After that, it’s a slow walk back to school, where they stand around for a few minutes, not wanting to part ways.

“Is this too public?” Rei asks Kaoru, leaning against the wall of the school. They’ve found a shaded doorway to huddle in, one Kaoru knows no one ever uses.

“Probably,” Kaoru says, but he reaches for Rei’s hand and pulls them close enough to kiss. Rei’s smiling as Kaoru’s lips find theirs, and they kiss him slowly, opening their mouth on his and scraping his lip with their fangs. Kaoru’s shivering as he pulls away, and then Kanata’s arms are around his shoulders and Kanata’s mouth is on his, warm and excited, and he can’t help but press closer to Kanata’s body, all that heat and love, all his.

When they part, Kanata tugs Rei closer and kisses them as well, and Kaoru gets to watch his two favorite people kiss, which is almost as good as kissing them himself. Rei melts against Kanata, their hands gripping the bottom hem of Kanata’s blazer, and they whine when Kanata pulls away.

“We need to all kiss properly sometime soon,” they say. “A good makeout session. You’re both far too talented kissers, it’s not fair.”

“Nothing’s more unfair than your teeth,” Kaoru grumbles, and Kanata nods firmly in agreement.

“Maybe... Our next ‘date’ can be at Rei’s house,” Kanata says, raising his eyebrows at Rei.

Rei laughs. “You just like my house because my bed is so large.”

“It is ‘perfect’ for kissing,” Kanata insists.

“I suppose.” Rei pats Kanata on the back, and kisses Kaoru on the cheek. Kaoru feels hypersensitive as their chapped lips brush his skin. “I’ll see you two tomorrow, all right?”

“Tomorrow,” Kanata echoes, and he sighs, letting go of Kaoru’s arm.

They all step back from each other, reluctant, and with a round of waves and goodbyes, they head in different directions.

Kaoru pulls out his earbuds, already anticipating the post-date blues. If he puts on a song that reminds him of Kanata or Rei, he might not dwell on the ache of having to leave them, of not getting enough kisses, or the anxiety of tomorrow, of anyone seeing, of not being cool or suave or good enough. The music takes his mind off the details, and the sunset streaking the sidewalk as he walks lifts his spirits, thinking Kanata and Rei are also walking home under the same painted sky.


End file.
